Choices
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: This is an AU to my 'Tense Reunions Redone' story. Different choices have different impacts on the future. What impact will it have on the future when a young Tim chooses to eavesdrop on a conversation he wasn't meant to hear and learns what his father did to his sister? What choice will he make and how will it affect his future and the future of his sisters?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Choices**

**A/N: This story takes place in my 'Tense Reunions Redone Universe. For those who haven't read it, in this universe Kate and her sister are Tim's sisters.**

Eleven-year-old Timothy McGee walked with his sister, Rachel towards the house she shared with his father and his two sisters.

"So do you think you have enough for your paper?" Rachel asked. She'd just taken him to the history museum to help him with a history paper he had for school. Kate was originally going to take him, but she had done it so that Penny, Tim's grandmother, could be alone with Kate. Something had been up with her and Penny wanted Tim out of the house to try to talk to her.

"Yeah, I think so. It was pretty cool too. It was neat hearing about our country from like the eighteen hundreds. I can't wait to get started on my paper," Tim said excited.

Rachel laughed. "Only you, little brother."

Tim followed his older sister into the house. He stopped when he saw his sister. She was wiping her eyes like she was crying and his grandmother was touching her shoulder comfortably.

Tim immediately ran up to his sister. "Kate, are you okay?"

Kate immediately rubbed her eyes and cleared her throat. "Hey, little bro. Yeah, I'm fine. My eyes are just watery. These allergies are kicking my butt."

"Are you sure that's it? You looked like you were crying," Tim said worried.

"I'm fine, Tim. Hey, if I'm not mistaken, you have a paper to write and you just got all the information for it, right?" Kate asked.

Tim nodded.

"Well, go on upstairs and get started," Kate said.

Tim was hesitant. He wasn't completely sure he believed his sister when she said she was okay. But Kate had told him to go do his homework and he knew better than to argue, so he headed upstairs. He went up to his bedroom and took out a pen and paper. He sat at his desk and started to write.

Tim barely got his name down on the paper before he heard yelling from downstairs. It wasn't unusual to hear yelling in his house. His dad was always yelling at one of them. But his dad wasn't home. It was just his sisters and his grandmother. The fight had to be between the three of them.

Tim tried to ignore it and focus on his paper, but he couldn't get Kate's face from when he and Rachel walked in out of his head. His sister had said she was fine, but just wasn't sure he believed that. Something seemed wrong and he couldn't help but think that this fight had to do with it.

Tim got up and headed for the door. He hesitated just as he reached for the doorknob. He wasn't supposed to eavesdrop and he knew he'd get a lecture if he got caught. In the end though, he decided it was worth the risk. He opened the door and walked towards the stairs. He crept down the stairs quietly as not to be heard and stopped halfway down and sat on the step.

Tim realized that his family had moved from the living room to the kitchen, but he could still hear them clear as day.

"How could you not tell me about this?" Tim heard Rachel asked.

"How could I?! I knew you'd try to make me leave!" Kate yelled.

"Of course I would've and I will now! You can't stay here, Kate, not after this!" Rachel yelled back.

Tim's stomach dropped. Rachel was trying to get Kate to leave. Why would she do that? Kate couldn't leave. She was all Tim had. He couldn't lose her. Why did their sister want her to?

"I'm not going anywhere. I will not leave Tim!" Kate said firmly.

"Caitlin, you are not staying here. I won't allow it! You aren't safe here," Penny said.

Tim was starting to get scared. Now even his grandmother was trying to make Kate leave, and Penny usually got her way. Wait, what did she mean when she said Kate wasn't safe? Why wouldn't his sister be safe?

"Back off, Penny! You are not my family! You have no say in what I do!" Kate yelled.

"Kate, for once, I agree with her. You cannot stay in this house. There is no way in hell I'm going to let him do it to you again," Rachel said firmly.

Tim was confused. Who was this 'him' his sister was talking about and what had he done to Kate. Did someone hurt his sister? No, nobody could hurt Kate. She was so strong.

"I can handle myself, Rachel," Kate said.

"No, not anymore! John has taken it too far. Damn it, Kate, he raped you!" Rachel yelled.

"Keep your voice down! I don't want Tim to hear you,' Kate said.

It was too late for that. Tim had heard her. He'd heard his sister say that his father had raped their other sister. Tim was young, but he did know what it meant to rape someone. They'd talked about it in health class. They'd had a whole sex-ed course and his teacher had explained that when someone forced you to have sex, it was called rape. He couldn't say he fully understood it, but he knew it was wrong and very illegal. His teacher had told the class that rape was considered a violent crime. It was considered an assault.

Tim began to shake as he realized that his sister had been attacked and that it was his own father who'd done it. He'd hurt Kate. He was the reason she was crying earlier and why everyone was yelling and fighting now.

Tim didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to handle his father hurting his sister? What was he supposed to do with this information? What could he do about it? He was just a kid. How could he help his sister?

Tim felt like the walls were closing in on him. He knew he had to get out of there and think. It was probably the only thing he did know right now. He dashed back upstairs and put his shoes on. He grabbed his jacket and headed back down stairs. He crept through the living room and out the door without being noticed. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he knew he had to go


	2. Chapter 2

Kate was sitting in her living room with her head in her hands. Her hands were shaking from the pain of reliving what happened to her with Rachel and Penny and from the fighting that resulted. Finally after about an hour, she agreed to leave, of course only after Penny promised that Tim would be coming with them. She wouldn't leave without him

Kate soon heard footsteps followed by the front door open. She looked up to see Rachel. "Penny gone?"

"Yeah. She said she'd be back in a few hours. She has to prepare. This is the right thing, Kate. You can't stay here," Rachel said.

"Trust me, no part of me wanted to stay here. If it weren't for Tim, I would've left a long time ago," Kate said. It was true. Her little brother was the only thing that kept her in that house for so long. She hated her stepfather with a passion and she wanted nothing more than to leave, but she refused to leave Tim behind. She would not leave him at the mercy of that son of a bitch.

"I know, but now you can both leave," Rachel said.

"And what then. You think John's just going to give Tim up?" Kate asked skeptically. She knew that he would never let go of Tim. Her stepfather enjoyed torturing the kid too much.

"Penny said she'd handle it," Rachel said.

"And I'm supposed to trust her? I don't trust anyone but you when it comes to Tim. You know that," Kate said. As far as she was concerned, Tim was hers and it was her job to keep him safe. She trusted no one but Rachel where he was concerned.

"Kate, you agreed," Rachel reminded her.

"And I still agree. I just know that I have to figure out a way to keep Tim safe myself. I'm not going to count on Penny to do it," Kate said. She had absolutely no idea how she was going to protect her brother, but she would find a way. She had to.

"We'll all keep him safe. For now though, I'm concerned for you. Kate, do you wanna talk about it?" Rachel asked. She felt her sister should talk about what happened to her. She needed to deal with it before she could heal from it.

Kate stiffened. "No, I think I've talked about that enough for one day. I'm gonna go check on Tim."

"Kate…"

Kate cut her sister off by getting up and heading up the stairs. She walked to her brother's room and knocked on the door. "Tim, can I come in?"

There was no answer.

Kate knocked again. "Tim?"

Again, no answer.

Kate frowned and opened the door. "Tim, what…?" She stopped mid-sentence when she realized her brother wasn't in his room.

Kate closed the door and started checking the other rooms. She checked her own room and Rachel's old one, though Tim wouldn't go into either of those without permission. She looked inside of the bathroom and found it empty. Then she checked John's study and bedroom. It was highly unlikely that he'd be in either of those, but she looked anyway. Again, both rooms were empty.

Kate walked back downstairs and started calling throughout the house. "Tim? Tim, where are you?"

Rachel met her at the bottom of the stairs. "What's going on?"

"I can't find Tim. He's not upstairs," Kate said.

"What do you mean? I thought he was working on his paper," Rachel said.

"Apparently not. I just checked the entire second floor," Kate said. She was getting worried. She just had a feeling that something wasn't right.

"Maybe he's on the back porch," Rachel said.

"I've been in the kitchen or the living room the whole time. He would've had to walk past me. I would've seen him," Kate said.

"You don't think he went out the window, do you?" Rachel asked. That certainly didn't sound like her brother, but it was the only thing she could think of.

"Tim? No way. He's never done anything like that before," Kate said. Her brother was always well behaved. He never so much as told a lie without confessing to it an hour later. Sneaking out just wasn't something he would do.

"Okay, you know what? He probably did just slip past you at some point. I'm going to check the porch and garage," Rachel said before going towards the kitchen. She walked through it and out the back door. Tim wasn't on the porch, so she went towards the garage. She opened it up and found that Tim wasn't there and neither was his bicycle. Tim had left the house on his bike without telling them.

Rachel was confused. Tim would never leave the house without telling someone. He knew that was unacceptable. Why would he start disobeying the rules now?

Rachel walked back towards the house and made it to the door just as Kate came outside. "His bike is missing."

"Where the hell is he? He's never gone anywhere without telling me," Kate said. Now she was getting really worried. This wasn't like her brother. He didn't take off like this.

"Let's worry about why later. Right now let's just find him. He can't have gone far. I'll grab my keys and we'll go look," Rachel said before going inside to get her car keys.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was on his bike riding around. He had no real destination at the moment. He was really just riding around the base trying to figure out what he was going to do. His dad had hurt his sister. He didn't really understand the degree in which he hurt her because he didn't really understand much about rape accept that it was something that it was something that shouldn't happen, but he knew that Kate had been crying. That was enough to know she got hurt because Kate didn't cry.

It really shook Tim to know that Kate had been hurt and that his father had been the one to do it. His father had always been really mean, but rape was supposed to be an attack and he rarely got physically violent. He'd hit Tim once, but that was it. This seemed much worse than a simple backhand.

Again, Tim wasn't sure what to do. Usually Kate was the one that he'd go to when he didn't know what to do, but that certainly wasn't an option now. This was about Kate. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how.

Tim thought back to what his teach had said when she talked about rape.

"_Rape is serious crime. If you are sexually assaulted or find out about it happening to someone else, it's important to report it someone so that they can get help. Go to a parent, a teacher, or the police," _she'd said.

Tim certainly couldn't go to a parent. His parent was the reason this was happening. He couldn't go to a teacher either. At least not one on base. He didn't trust anyone on base but his sisters.

The final option was the police, but could he really do that? The police would arrest his dad. Rape was a crime. They'd put him in jail. Could Tim really be the reason his father went to prison?

Tim moved on from thoughts of his father to thoughts of Kate. Kate didn't deserve for the Admiral to hurt her. She was the best person in the world. She was always there when Tim needed her. She comforted him every time his father tore him down, which was pretty often. He always wondered if the Admiral loved him, but he never once questioned Kate's love for him. He knew she'd be there for him no matter what. So didn't she deserve the same from him? Didn't he owe it to her to be there for her the way she was always there for him, even if it did force him to turn on his own father?

Tim realized then and there what he had to do. It scared the hell out of him, both because he feared his father's anger and because he feared what would happen to him afterwards, but he knew what he had to do. He had to do what ironically his father was telling him he had to do. He had to be a man. He had to help Kate.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim rode his bike down to the local police station in town. He didn't go to the MPs on base because he didn't trust them not to side with his father. He decided that the regular police was the way to go.

Tim parked his bike outside and walked into the station. He surveyed the area and saw a bunch of cops around. He wasn't entirely sure how to do this. Did he just approach one of them and tell them what happened?"

Tim didn't have to decide because a detective standing nearby noticed him and walked over. "Can I help you with something, son?"

"I…I…"

"Are your parents with you?" the detective asked.

Tim shook his head and took a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this. "I, uh, I need to report a crime."


	3. Chapter 3

Tim was led into a room by the detective. He looked around and saw that there was nothing there, but a large table and a few chairs.

"Go ahead and have a seat, son," the detective said as he closed the door.

Tim went over and sat down at the table. His hands were shaking wildly. The closer he got to having to tell his story, the more afraid he got. His father was going to kill him for this. There was no doubt about that. He would see him as a traitor and he would hate him.

The detective sat down across from Tim. "So you do you wanna tell me your name?"

"Tim," he said quietly.

"Well, hi, Tim. I'm Detective Myers, but you can call me Steve if you want," the detective said with a friendly smile. "So you said you wanted to report a crime. What crime?"

Tim's hands began shaking even worse. He tried to speak, but he just couldn't seem to. He knew he had to. He owed it to Kate to tell the detective what his father had done, but he was so scared. For one, what if the detective didn't believe him? He was just a kid and his father was an admiral in the Navy. Who would believe an eleven-year-old kid over such a powerful man? And if the detective didn't believe him, he was done for. His father would eat him alive for turning on him like this.

"It's alright, son. I can see that you're scared, but everything will be okay. I won't let anyone hurt you. You will be safe," Steve promised.

"If you believe me," Tim said. Actually, even if he did believe him he wasn't sure he'd be safe. His father was very powerful. He could still get away with it and then he'd make Tim's life miserable.

"What makes you think I won't believe you? Did this person tell you that you wouldn't be believed if you came forward?" Steve asked.

Tim shook his head. "He doesn't know that I know."

"So then this wasn't something that was done to you. Did you see something that you shouldn't have?" Steve asked.

"No. I head something I shouldn't have. I'm not supposed to eavesdrop. Private conversations are private conversations," Tim said. Kate had told him that every time she caught him listening into a private conversation. He didn't do it anymore, but he used to.

"But you did eavesdrop."

"I was worried. She was crying and she never cries," Tim said.

"Who's she?" he asked.

"My sister," Tim said

"Your sister. You have a sister. I have one too. Older or younger?" Steve asked. He wanted to calm the boy a little bit, make him feel safe enough to tell him what happened.

"Older," Tim said.

"Ah. My sister's younger. I'm constantly looking out for her. It's hard work sometimes," Steve said.

"Kate looks out for me. She's always there. She's the only one that's always been there. She protects me. It's my turn to do that for her now," Tim said. He said the last part mostly for his own benefit. He had to do this for Kate. She deserved for him to have her back the way she always had his. This one time, he had to be brave and help his big sister.

"How old is your sister?" Steve asked.

"Seventeen, almost eighteen. Her birthday is in a couple of months,' Tim said.

"And she doesn't know you're here?" he asked.

"No. I left without her knowing. She's going to be mad when she finds out," Tim said. He wasn't supposed to leave the house without telling Kate where he was going and when he'd be back. She was going to be really upset with him.

"Well, how about you tell me what's going on and then we'll call her. Or I can have someone call her and she can be here with you while we talk," Steve said.

Tim shook his head. "No. I have to be brave. I have to be a man and do the right thing. I can't be a coward anymore. M…my dad… My dad hurt my sister. He did something really bad to her."

Steve stiffened and braced himself for what he knew would be a devastating secret. "What did your father do, son?"

Tim took a deep breath. "He's always been mean and cruel. He's always hated my sisters, I think because they're not his, and maybe he even hates me too, but I didn't think he would hurt her like this."

"You say your father's always been mean. Has he ever hit you or your sisters, Tim?" Steve asked. The way this boy spoke about his father and even about himself made Steve think he was abused. The child obviously had very low self-esteem and he was afraid of his father.

"He hit me once. He was mad and he backhanded me across the face," Tim admitted. He didn't see the point in denying it now. In light of what happened to Kate, it wasn't much of a sin anyway. He treaded what happened when Kate found out. He hadn't told her. The only one to know was Rachel. She'd seen the whole thing. That was then she finally started to like him. Before she pretty much hated him.

"And your sisters?"

"I don't think he ever hit them. He was mean to them though. He called them names, really bad ones. They didn't care though. They hate him," Tim said.

"Does he call you names?" Steve asked.

"All the time. He calls me a disappointment all the time. He says I'm a coward and I need to learn how to be a real man. Kate says not to listen, but it's hard," Tim said. He couldn't help but listen and to believe the things his father said. He was his father. If he said Tim was a coward and no good, didn't that mean it had to be true?

"Your dad shouldn't have said those things to you. He was wrong to do that. You're not a coward. The fact that you're here is proof of that," Steve said. This young man was far from a coward. He'd walked into a police station by himself to turn in his own father because the man had done something wrong. He'd never even met someone this brave before.

"But I still haven't told you. I'm scared," Tim said.

"That's okay. It's not cowardly to admit that you're scared. Everyone gets scared. And being in a police station alone has to be scary for any boy. But you're safe here. I won't let anything happen to you. Tell me whenever you're ready," Steve said patiently.

Tim breathed in and out a couple of times. "My dad raped my sister."

Steve looked at Tim in horror. "Are you sure?"

Tim nodded. "I heard them talking about it. I heard my sister, Rachel say that John, that's my dad, went too far, that he raped Kate."

"What's your father's full name?" Steve asked. He needed to get this sick piece of crap off the streets and Tim and his sisters to safety.

"You're going to arrest him," Tim said. It wasn't a question. His father was going to be arrested and he was the reason why.

"I have to, Tim. What he did was very wrong and he needs to be punished for it," Steve said.

"I know. His name is John McGee. Admiral John McGee," Tim said.

"Okay," he said before standing up. "I'm going to be right back. I need to go talk to a couple of people. You did the right thing, Tim. You are not a coward."

Tim nodded and watched the man leave before laying his head down on the table. He was tired. This whole thing had taken a toll on him. The worst part was that he knew it wasn't over. Things were about to change and he knew it.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate was really starting to freak out. She and Rachel had been driving around for hours looking for Tim and there was no sign of him. They checked all the places he would normally go if he went out, including his best friend's house, but there was nothing and it was starting to get late. "Where the hell is he?"

"We'll find him, Kate," Rachel promised. She was getting worried too. Tim wasn't like those kids who took off whenever he wanted. He didn't sneak out and he didn't go where he wasn't supposed to. He was a very well-behaved kid, proof that such a thing still existed. She just couldn't understand why he'd all of a sudden take off like this. Nothing in his behavior made it seem like he'd sudden start to rebel.

Suddenly a horrifying thought occurred to Rachel. No one had seen Tim since Kate sent him upstairs. Right afterwards, the two of them and Penny started talking about what the Admiral had done to Kate. They weren't exactly quiet, in fact, Kate had to tell them to quiet down. What if Tim had overheard the conversation? If he heard that his father had hurt his sister, that would be a reason to take off the way he did. No kid could hear something like that and not be seriously upset about it. If that was the case though, it still didn't tell them where he was. Where would he go if he had overheard that?

Another scary thought occurred to her. Tim wouldn't go to confront the Admiral, would he? That would be a disaster. Lord only knew what the Admiral would do. He certainly wouldn't respond well to his secret being ousted or to be confronted about it by his own son. Would he hurt Tim? The man had only put his hands on the boy once, but he proved then and again with Kate that he was certainly capable of doing it again. "Kate, where's the Admiral today?"

"I don't know. He went out of town Friday and is due back in the morning. You're not suggesting stupid like calling him, are you?" Kate asked. She would try anything if it would help her find Tim, but calling the Admiral wasn't going to do that. All he would do was bark orders at her to find him and make Tim feel lower than dirt when he was finally found. While Kate certainly planned to make it clear to her brother that disappearing like this was unacceptable when she found him, she would not allow him to be treated the way the Admiral would treat him.

"No, of course not. I was just wondering when he'd be back," Rachel lied. She didn't see the point of telling Kate her suspicions just yet. It wouldn't help any. She would just worry more and she had enough to worry about right now. "Listen, I think we should go back to the house and see if he made it home."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Kate said. She couldn't really come up with any other idea. She'd thought about possibly informing the MPs on base, but they would probably just say that he snuck out and would turn up later. They wouldn't really do anything to find him for another day or so. God forbid he be gone that long.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate plowed through the front door and turned the light on. "Tim? Tim, are you here?"

"Kate, the lights were off. He's not here," Rachel said.

"Damn it! Where could he have gone? We've looked everywhere," Kate said stressed.

An idea suddenly popped into Rachel's head. "Penny. Why didn't we think to call her? Tim is close to her."

Kate immediately went into the kitchen and to the phone on the counter. She dialed Penny's number and waited.

"_Hello?"_

"Penny, it's Kate," she said.

"_Caitlin, hi. I'm going to be back there in a couple of hours. Tell me you've started packing," _Penny said.

"No, I haven't. Look, have you seen or spoken with Tim? He's missing," Kate said urgently.

"_What do you mean? Where is he?"_ Penny said.

"I believe I covered that with 'missing'," Kate said irritably. "I went to check on him and he was gone. We haven't seen him for hours. We were hoping maybe he called you or something."

"_He didn't. I haven't heard from him since you sent him upstairs while I was there. I will be there in ten minutes and we'll figure out what to do," _Penny said. The line then went dead.

Kate hung up the phone. "She hasn't heard from him. She's coming now to help find him. I don't know what good it's going to do though. We've looked everywhere."

Rachel sighed. "Alright, I know neither of us really trusts them, but I think we should talk to some of the sailors. One of them might have seen him at some point."

"I'll do anything at this point. Let's go," Kate said before heading back towards the door. She opened it to find two men on the other side. Their appearances screamed 'cop'. The police car with the flashing lights in front of the house helped with that assessment as well.

Kate began to panic. Her brother was missing and there were cops at the front door. She had a hard time believing that was a coincidence. Something had happened to brother. "Oh, God."

"Hello, I'm detective Myers and this is Detective Wiley. Are you Caitlin Todd?"

"My brother," was the only thing Kate could manage to say. She was beginning to lose it. All sorts of scenarios were going through her head, each more frightening than the last.

"Your brother is fine. He's at the station and he's just fine," he assured her.

Kate let out a sigh of relief. Hours of worry were finally over. Her brother was okay, though there was the question of why her brother was at the police station and why the police were at the door. "What's going on? Why is my brother at the police station?"

By this time, Rachel had made her way over. "Tim's at the police station?"

"Yes. I presume you're his other sister. The two of you need to come with us," Detective Wiley said.

"Is our brother in trouble?" Rachel asked. She couldn't think of anything Tim might have done to warrant the police getting involved. He just wasn't that kind of kid. Sneaking off the way he did was the worst thing he'd ever done and most kids his age did that.

"No, none of you are in trouble. We just need to speak with you downtown," Detective Wiley said.

Normally Kate probably would've argued, but Tim was at the police station and she wanted to see him and find out what was going on. "Alright, fine," she said before she and Rachel stepped outside and followed the detectives to their car.


	5. Chapter 5

Rachel followed Detective Wiley down the hall of the police station to go see Tim. Kate had gone with the other detective in the other direction. She'd wanted to come with to see Tim, but Detective Myers had insisted.

Rachel was led into an interview room where she found her brother sitting at the table. "Oh, thank God."

"Rachel," Tim said before getting up and running over to her.

Rachel pulled her baby brother into her arms and held him tightly for several seconds. She then pulled away but kept a firm grip on his shoulders. "Tim, this was not cool. We were worried sick. We looked everywhere for you."

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't stay there. I felt like I was going to pass out if I didn't leave," Tim said.

Rachel sighed. "You overheard our conversation, didn't you?"

Tim nodded. "I know I wasn't supposed to listen, but I couldn't help it. I knew Kate was lying when she said she was okay."

"Let's sit down," Rachel said before leading him back to the table. She guided him into a chair and then sat down next to him. "I wish you'd come to us when you heard it."

"I just didn't know what to do. I couldn't believe it. Dad's always been mean, but I didn't think he'd hurt Kate. But he did. We talked about it in school, you know? We had a whole course on sex. Towards the end, we learned about whet means to force someone to do it. The teacher said it was called rape and that it was really bad," Tim said.

"She's right, it is. Rape is considered a violent crime. It's very serious. Someone who commits such an act could go to prison for a very long time and they should," Rachel said.

"I know. My teacher said that if you know someone who has been raped, you have to report it. I had to report it," Tim said.

"You told the police," Rachel said. She'd actually thought about that when she was in the car on the way to the station. After realizing that Tim had overheard them and that he was at the station, she realized that it had to be connected and that he probably turned his father in.

"I had to. What my dad did was wrong. He hurt Kate. I had to help her," Tim said.

Rachel stared at her brother in awe. She'd spent so many years resenting this boy because he was John's son. She believed he would grow up to be just like his father. Looking at him now, she didn't know how she could've ever thought that. Tim was nothing like his father. He had a heart and values, things John would never have. He'd turned his father in to the police for the simple reason that it was the right thing to do. "I'm proud of you, Tim. It couldn't have been easy to turn your own father into the police. It was a very brave thing to do."

"I was so scared. I'm still scared," Tim said.

Rachel put her arm around his shoulders to comfort him. Truthfully though, she was scared to. She was afraid of what would happen now. There was a very good chance John would still get away with what he did, which was why she didn't pressure Kate to file charges. She was worried that he would get away with it and things would get worse. Now she was even more worried about that because if it did go wrong, Tim would suffer the Admiral's wrath.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Detective Steven Myers led Kate into an interview room. "Go ahead and sit down."

Kate unhappily sat down. She did not wanna be there. She wanted to go see her brother. She'd spent hours not knowing where he was or if he was okay. She needed to see him with her own eyes. "Make this quick. Why am I here? Why is my brother here? Why did you pick him up?"

Steve sat down on the other side of the table. "We didn't pick him up. Your brother came here on his own to report a crime. Apparently, he overheard a conversation between you and your sister."

Kate's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. She'd never considered the possibility of Tim overhearing them after he disappeared, probably because she didn't want to. She didn't want him to hear that. He was just a kid. He didn't need that in his head. No boy should ever have to hear about his father having done something like that.

"Tim claimed that he heard you and your sister talking about his father having raped you. He was very sure, and in my experience, kids don't usually lie or make up stories about this kind of thing. However, we need you to confirm or deny it. If you'd prefer to talk to a female detective, I can arrange that," Steve said.

With talk about what had happened to her, she couldn't seem to keep the memories of that horrible day out of her head. She pushed them away as fast as she could though. She couldn't think of the past right now. She needed to focus on the present and do what she always did. She had to protect her little brother. He was what mattered. "I don't have anything to say to you or anyone else."

Steve sighed. "Listen, I know that this must be difficult for you, but if this happens, it's important that you report it. This is very serious."

Kate glared at the detective. Like she needed him to tell her how serious this was. She was there. She lived it. She knew exactly what it meant. "I don't need you to tell me what it means to be… I don't need you to tell me how serious rape is."

"Let us help then. Tell me what happened and we can put him away," Steve aid.

Kate scoffed. She had a hard time believing that would happen. The Admiral was powerful. He would most likely snake his way through this. That's why she never reported it. It wouldn't have made a difference, something the Admiral loved very much gloating about. It was very clear after he was done that turning him in would do nothing. To admit it now would only hurt Tim, one way or another. If she admitted it and the Admiral got away with it, he would take it out on the kid for turning him in. If on the off chance the Admiral did go to prison, the guilt of sending his father to prison would crush Tim. She couldn't let it happen. What Tim tried to do for her made her unbelievably proud, but she couldn't let him.

"You don't think he'll pay? Are you afraid I won't believe you? Your brother was afraid of that too. Is it because he's a navy admiral?" Steve asked.

Kate didn't reply.

"Look, I assure you that I will do whatever it takes to make him pay for what he did. McGee's title doesn't make him invincible."

Again, Kate didn't say a word.

"Your brother is important to you, right?" Steve asked.

"He means everything to me," Kate said with conviction.

Steve nodded. "He said that you've always been there for him. He spoke very passionately about it actually. He said that you always looked out and took care of him and now it was his turn."

Kate sighed and rubbed her eyes. She didn't want her brother thinking that. She didn't consider the way she treated Tim to be give and take. She didn't do it to get something out of it. She did it because she loved him and she felt it was her job to protect him. It was a job she treasured. She was going to have to have a talk with Tim, make him see that he didn't owe her anything.

"I have younger siblings. I know the extreme need to protect them, though probably not to the extent that you do. You wanna protect your brother. I get that, but the best way to protect him is to tell the truth now. That way he will be safe from his father. McGee has already proved he could be violent. What is to stop him from going after his son next?" Steve asked. He wasn't trying to scare her, but that was a real possibility. Men like McGee always got worse.

Kate's eyes darkened at the mere thought. "I will kill the son of a bitch before he ever lays a hand on my brother!"

"According to your brother, he already has struck him," Steve said.

"What?" Kate asked in a deadly low tone.

"Tim says that it only happened once, but that his father backhanded him across the face. He's already gotten violent with him once and he's done it with you as well. It's time to stop him before it gets even worse, before one of you is dead," Steve said.

Kate stood there for a minute silently. She didn't know if what the detective said was true or if he was just trying to get her to talk, but even if it wasn't true, it was true that the Admiral was getting much worse and that he had potential to come after Tim next, especially once he found out Tim turned him in. Of course, if the Admiral got away with it, that was still a threat. But she had to do something. She couldn't do nothing and allow her brother to get physically hurt. She had to make a decision. "Okay. I'll tell you what happened.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate was sitting alone in the interview room. The detective had left a few minutes earlier, telling her he'd be right back. Meanwhile, Kate was trying to gather up the strength to do this, to explain in detail what her stepfather had done. She'd told Penny earlier what he had done and it nearly ripped her apart, and that hadn't been very detailed. She was going to have to say a lot more to the police.

Just then, Steve came back into the room with a bottle of water and a tape recorder. He placed the water in front of Kate. "Here."

"Thanks," Kate said before opening the bottle and taking a sip.

Steve sat down and placed the tape recorder on the table. "Is it alright if I tape this conversation?"

"I doubt I really have a choice, so sure," Kate said.

Steve pressed the record button. "Whenever, you're ready."

Kate took a deep breath and willed herself to stay strong. She thought about her little brother and how much he was going to need her. She just hoped that would be enough to keep her from losing it. "It was three months ago. My brother was at a sleepover and my sister was away at school, so I was alone when the Admiral came home."

"By Admiral, you mean Rear Admiral John McGee?" Steve asked for the record.

Kate nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, and what happened when he got home?" Steve asked.

Kate shuddered as she thought about that horrible night. "H…he got home at around eight. He was smiling slightly. I was surprised because when we spoke the night before, it was a huge screaming match. Actually that describes about ninety-five percent of our conversations. We have a mutual hatred of each other."

"What was the fight about the night before?" Steve asked. He got the feeling that the incident was connected somehow.

"What it was always about. Tim. The Admiral has been trying to control my brother his entire life. And the way he did that was to make him feel worthless. He's constantly putting him down, and unlike with my sister and me, Tim cares. It matters to him what his father thinks. He listens to the Admiral's crap. It breaks his spirit and it takes me forever to get him back to where he was, not that that's much better. Tim has extremely low self-esteem on a good day," Kate said.

"So is that what happened when you fought? He went after your brother?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. There was an issue that day after school. There was a fight. My brother gets bullied a lot. He ran, but the other little punks that came after him got a few shots in. The Admiral was pissed when he found out. He called Tim a coward for not fighting back. I was already pissed that those brats had hurt him, so I lost it on the Admiral completely. It was really nothing new, but I guess it was the last straw for the Admiral. He decided to strike back," Kate said. She was almost sure that was why the Admiral had attacked her. He'd probably finally realized that day that she was never going to stop fighting for Tim. What took him so long to reach that conclusion, she didn't know, but this was probably his way of teaching her a lesson.

"You think that fight was the reason?"

"More like the last straw. Like I said, we've always gone at it over Tim. He's never given up trying to control Tim and I've never given up trying to protect him from that control. I never will," Kate said firmly. Her stepfather could do whatever the hell he wanted to her. She would never stop fighting for Tim.

"Okay, go back to the night he attacked you. You said he was smiling,' Steve reminded her.

"Yeah. I was kind of confused. The bastard rarely smiled at all, let alone at me. Anyway, he just stared at me for a while. I stared back at him. It was almost like a contest, like we were trying to see who would break first. That smile was creeping me out though, so I finally blinked. I asked him what the hell he wanted. His smile grew wider and he leaned over me. He said that he finally figure out a way to put me in my place. I laughed at him. I told him there was nothing he could to break me," Kate said. She really wished she hadn't uttered those words. She'd basically egged him on by saying them. "I didn't think he would really do anything. He's never gotten violent before."

"It's not your fault. What happened was on him and him alone," Steve said.

"I know that. I know I didn't ask for it. No matter how many times he's tried to say I did. Anyway, from there, he started his usual crap. He told me I would never question him again. I would never interfere when it came to Tim again. He said I would fall in line or else. I didn't even bother asking what he meant. I didn't care. Instead, I stood up and got in his face. I told him that I would never stop protecting Tim from him. I told him there was nothing he could do to make me stop fighting him," Kate said. She still meant that too. Even after the Admiral raped her, it didn't matter. She was still determined to protect her little brother.

"Is that when it happened?" Steve asked.

Kate nodded. "H…he grabbed me by the arm and s…started to drag me u…upstairs." The closer she got to the rape, the harder it got for her to remain strong. Her voice was starting to crack and she was stuttering. It was just very difficult for her to talk about.

"It's okay," Steve said kindly and patiently.

Kate took a sip of her water and then took a couple of deep breaths. "I didn't know what he was planning at first. I thought he was actually dragging me to my room. He did that once or twice when I was a kid. Instead he took me to his own room. I was thoroughly confused then. I tried to ask him what he was doing, but th…then he threw me down on the bed. I knew then. I knew what he was going to do." She was crying now and she couldn't seem to stop. No matter how many times she tried to wipe the tears away, they just kept coming.

"I have to ask you what happened next," Steve said. He hated having to ask, but he needed as much detail as possible.

"He g…got on top of me and started r…ripping my c…clothes off. I tried to f…fight him, but he was stronger than me. He grabbed my hands and pinned them down. I tried to scream, but no one heard me. Then he…he… Do you really need me to go on? You know what he did. He raped me," Kate cried. By now she'd given up even trying to stop.

Steve stopped the recording. He wanted to do something to comfort the young girl, but he knew that physical contact of any kind would just make things worse for a girl that had just relived her rape. "I'm sorry that happened to you and I'm sorry you had to relive it. I promise you I will do whatever I can to lock him up. He will not get away with this."

Kate didn't reply. She was too lost in the painful memories of what happened to her.

"I'll give you a few moments and then we'll get you to the hospital an examination," Steve said before getting up and leaving the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Kate followed the detective down the hall to where her brother and sister were. She'd refused to do anything until she saw her little brother. She'd spent hours not knowing where he was. She needed to see for herself that he was okay.

Kate was led into another interview room where Rachel and Tim were seated.

"Kate!" Tim exclaimed before running to his big sister and hugging her.

Kate held her brother tightly. There had been a while there when she wasn't sure when she'd be able to hold him again. Every horrible scenario there was in the world had gone through her mind when he was missing.

Kate pulled away after a minute and bent down to her brother's level. "You listen to me now. Don't you ever do this again! We were worried to death! You know better than to leave the house without telling anyone!"

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have left, but I freaked out. I felt like I was gonna suffocate or something if I didn't get out of there," Tim said.

Kate turned around to where the detective was still standing. "Can you give us a few minutes please?"

He nodded and walked out the door.

"I'm sorry, Kate," Tim said again while looking down at his shoes."

"Look at me," Kate said as she pulled his chin up with her finger. "I want you to understand something. I'm not upset with you for coming here. You found out that… something bad had happened and you did what you thought was best to fix it. But you know better than to leave the house without telling someone. We searched everywhere for you, Tim. We were worried sick."

"I didn't mean to. I wasn't really thinking about that. I just felt like I had to get away," Tim said.

"Why didn't you come downstairs and talk to us?" Kate asked. That would've been the better option in her eyes. Not only would it have saved her and her sister tons of worrying, but she could've found a better option than her little brother turning his father in. Because she knew that down the line, he would hate himself for it.

"I don't know. I wasn't really thinking. I just felt like I had to get out of there and get some air. I'm really sorry I scared you," Tim said.

Kate sighed. "It's my fault too. I knew you were in the house and might overhear. I should've been more careful."

"Why didn't you want me to know?" Tim asked.

Kate was a bit hesitant in answering. "Tim, do you fully understand what, what you heard means? I know you know that it's a crime otherwise you didn't have come to the police, but do you understand what it all means?"

"Sort of. I know that rape means to force someone to have sex. They told us that in school and said it was really bad. I know that Dad really hurt you. I guess I don't fully get how, but I know he did and I had to stop him," Tim said.

"Wow. You've got a firmer grip on it than what I would've expected," Kate said. Her brother was still very young. She didn't expect him to understand the concept of rape even as much as he did, and she'd been grateful for it. A boy his age shouldn't have to know what it was. "The reason I didn't want you to know is because I didn't think you'd be able to understand it as well as you do. That and I was worried you would blame yourself. I want something clear, Tim. This is not and will never be your fault."

"Okay," Tim said.

"No matter what you hear, you are not allowed to blame yourself. Do you understand me?" Kate asked firmly.

Tim nodded. He wondered what she meant by what he might here though. What could he possible hear to make this worse?

"I'm proud of you, Tim. I know it wasn't easy for you to come here and report your own father. A part of me wishes you hadn't just because I don't want you to have to live with that," Kate said.

"I had to. Dad hurt you. I had to help you. You've always been there for me. I had to be here for you," Tim said.

"We'll talk about that later. Right now, there's a question I need to ask you and you need to tell me the truth," Kate said.

"Okay."

"The detective that took your statement said that the Admiral hit you. Is that true?" Kate asked.

Tim nodded after a minute. "Yes."

Kate took a deep breath in order to reign in her temper. She was ready to grab a two by four or a bat and beat the living yell out of him. Nobody hurt her little brother. "When? And why didn't you tell me."

Rachel was the one to answer. "I told him not to, Kate."

Kate stood up and glared at her oldest sister. "You told him to keep this from me?"

Rachel sighed. "It was the summer you spent in Vermont. I walked in as the Admiral backhanded him. I put a stop to it and made sure it didn't happen again, I told Tim not to tell you because it wouldn't have done any good. All it would've done was cause a huge fight between you and the Admiral."

Kate remembered that summer. When she got home, she noticed that Rachel's attitude towards Tim had changed. Rachel no longer regarded Tim as a future John. She saw him as his own person and finally allowed herself to love him. She always wondered what had changed. This had to be it. Rachel witnessed John being violent with their brother. "You shouldn't have kept this from me."

"Consider us even then given that you hid what happened to you for months. Look, it's all out know. We just figure out how to move on," Rachel said.

Just then, the detective came back in. "Are you guys ready?"

"Ready for what? What's happening now?" Tim asked.

"Uh, I have to go to the hospital to be examined," Kate told her brother.

"Why? Are you sick?" Tim asked worried.

"Probably not, but they have to make sure. There are certain diseases that can be caused by what the Admiral did. They have to make sure that didn't happen," Kate explained. At least she assumed that was why they were going to the hospital. It couldn't be for evidence. That would be long gone by now.

"Actually, Tim here needs to be examined too," Steve said.

"Why? He's fine," Kate said.

"Well, when an allegation of child abuse is made, every minor under the alleged abuser's care has to be checked out. It's standard procedure," Steve explained.

"I hate doctors," Tim whined.

Kate put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "You'll be fine. Let's just go get it over with."

Tim nodded reluctantly and let his sister lead him out of the room


End file.
